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Blue Jays GM, Gibbons confident they'll work out extension

Ken Blaze / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

As of now, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons will enter the 2017 campaign on what would seem to be a short leash. Gibbons' contract is set to expire after this season, and he wasn't extended this winter despite having just led his team to consecutive American League Championship Series appearances.

But while Gibbons is still on a one-year deal for the moment, both sides now appear to be intent on reaching an agreement in the near future. General manager Ross Atkins even acknowledged Tuesday the sides have had some discussions this spring, and he seems confident that a resolution will come soon.

"The advantage (of getting a deal done now) is us showing a commitment to one another," Atkins told Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun. "We continue to talk about it and I'm extremely optimistic we will be working together for the foreseeable future."

Gibbons, a hire of former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos in 2013, was inherited by Atkins and president Mark Shapiro when the executives took over in October of 2015. While that unfamiliarity with his new bosses could have hurt Gibbons' hold on the job long term, Atkins said the sides have now developed an excellent working relationship - something he'd like to see continue for the good of the club's future.

"John and I have worked well together over the (last) year and we both feel very fortunate to have established trust and respect," Atkins said. "When you come into a new situation not having those established lines of communication, then going through a year we feel that not only was a successful one but a very productive one for the two of us (is a positive).

"So looking forward, we're talking about the Blue Jays organization and not just the two of us leading it, but the two of us being a part of leading it together."

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